


Telepathy

by cyndario



Series: Shudun Ryder | Seasons Change [11]
Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-02
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:54:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21649390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cyndario/pseuds/cyndario
Summary: I wasn’t gonna play it tonightBut I can’t help it, the feelings aliveAs long as you play my gameI’ll let you win††† - telepathy
Relationships: Jaal Ama Darav/Female Ryder | Sara
Series: Shudun Ryder | Seasons Change [11]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/691425
Kudos: 12





	1. 1.

“Shudun.” 

Looking over her shoulder, she saw that Jaal had stepped out of the crew’s quarters and followed after her. Smiling, she leaned against the frame of her own room. 

“What's up, baby?” She asked, her voice still a bit raw from her crying during her session with Lexi. Jaal noticed this and reached out to grasp her shoulder. A slight tingle of electricity warmed her skin, tickling the nerves underneath. 

“I heard… yelling. Is everything alright between you two?” He asked cautiously, and Shudun laughed. 

“I was venting _to_ her, not _about_ her. Lexi and I are good, babe, don't worry.” She assured, turning her head to the side to lay a quick kiss on the hand on her shoulder. Flashing him a smile she turned to walk inside her room, and before the doors closed on him Jaal stepped through after her. 

Shudun turned when she heard his footsteps, surprised but touched the he was worried enough to follow after her. 

“Why, hello there, stranger.” She teased, walking towards her closet and shrugging off her jacket. Now she was only in a tank top along with the pants that seemed to mold to her coupled with the exposure of so much of her brown skin caught Jaal off guard. 

Clearing his throat, he needed to find something else to talk about or else he was going to embarrass himself. “Would you tell _me_ if something was bothering you?” 

“Yes. I promised I’d be more vocal on a personal level. And I did while I was getting checked up so I’m good now.” Her voice was stronger now, her posture relaxed. These things should have been enough to dissuade his worry but something still seemed… off. 

As soon as Shudun took a step towards the other side of the room Jaal unconsciously followed after her, his steps seeming to mirror her own. Shudun smiled at this, chancing a glance in his eyes. When she tried to take a step again and he followed without glancing away she smiled wider. 

This little dance of theirs was too cute. 

“I should start calling you my shadow with how close you keep following.” Shudun teased, and Jaal chuckled as he crossed his arms over his chest. 

“I just want to make sure you're alright. You would do the same.” 

“You're right, but when _I_ pester you I’m like a tiny duckling trying to keep up. You're following like a… wolf.” She exhaled, resisting the urge to shudder. Could she outrun him, she wondered? 

Probably not. 

“What is a duckling—and a wolf?” Jaal asked quickly, and Shudun smiled at his curiosity. 

“SAM, can you pull up vids for me?” 

“ _Certainly, Pathfinder_.” 

Motioning him towards her terminal, Jaal watched as a short nature vid of a small creature waddled with even smaller ones following after them. There in the very back, a lone one was struggling to keep up, it's tiny webbed feet pattering along the ground as it ran. The next vid switched to a clip of an old Earth nature doc, using night vision cameras to see a wolf stalking its prey through the night. 

“You are much cuter than those … ducklings. And why must you make it seem like I’m hunting you?”

“Kinda feels like it. Like you don't want me out of your sight.” 

“I do not.” He replied earnestly, and Shudun’s nervous smile warped into a smirk. 

“Careful. I could run and hide… and you wouldn't catch me.”

“I doubt you could hide from me, Shudun. Not even if I let you.” Her brow ticked in response to his obvious challenge. And the deepening of his voice. 

Asshole knew what he was doing—and two can play that game. 

“Oh, really?” Shudun purred, turning to lean back along her desk. Jaal walked slowly into her space, a sly grin on his face. 

“Really.” He reiterated, but before he got just close enough Shudun ducked under his arm and raced out the door. Jaal heard the echo of her laughter flow into his ears and broke out into a sprint behind her. 

Good thing most of the crew had stepped out to stretch their legs on the Nexus while they were running around like this. 

Shudun hurriedly slipped into the bathroom, cutting through the crew’s quarters as she made her way towards Engineering. She realized—too late in fact—that she was on the wrong floor for this impromptu game of hide and seek to work. If she could hurry and make it to the upper floor she could at least keep him at bay in the vidcon room. Just as she activated the controls for the lift Jaal caught up to her, growling lightly into her neck as he held her close. Shudun’s surprised squeal tickled his ears, the sound joyous and light. He laughed alongside her, unable and unwilling to stop himself. Once the lift made it to the upper deck, Shudun turned in Jaal’s arms, facing him head on. 

His eyes studied her face, a contented look shining through. Shudun sucked in a breath as she felt his grip tightening, pressing her closer to him. The strength of his grip made her a little weak in the knees and that _look_ he was giving her wasn't helping. 

Neither were sure how long they had stayed like that, wrapped up in that warm embrace before they heard a door opening. Regretfully, Shudun pulled out of his arms, standing a bit to the side. Reaching for his hand, she quickly placed a kiss on his knuckle before she looked to see who interrupted them. 

“Don't mind me. You kids keep doing… _whatever_ you were doing.” Drack called, ignoring them in favor of looking for something on ground level. Shudun rolled her eyes at the older Krogan before turning back to Jaal. 

“You caught me this time. You won't be so lucky again.” She taunted playfully and Jaal laughed. 

“I told you already, dearest.” Shudun gasped at the term of endearment, her skin heating beneath her cheeks. “You could never hide from me.” A smug smile etched itself onto his lips as he traced his thumb along her cheek before walking away. Just before he passed through the door he called out over his shoulder.

“But there is always next time, yes?” 


	2. 2.

Next time was about six weeks later, after the team had successfully restarted the vault on Kadara. Shudun had wandered towards his little makeshift room in the tech lab, absently running her hands along the shelves as she watched him tinkering with his gun. 

“Jaal.” She called softly, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against a nearby counter. 

“Yes, dearest?” His gaze flickered upwards briefly, letting her know he was listening. But he was still distracted. 

Good. 

“Bet you can't catch me.” She stated, looking down at her nails nonchalantly. Shudun saw out of the corner of her eye that he had stopped his work and his shoulders were shaking in silent laughter. 

“We have been over this once before, you—oh, you are _intentionally_ goading me.” He realized, the laughter in his voice turning accusatory. His eyes however, were light, so Shudun knew he wasn't truly mad. 

“Me? I would never.” She deflected, her smile creeping onto her lips. 

“You are a terrible liar, Shudun.” Jaal uttered, and she shrugged her shoulders. That was nothing new. 

“And you're missing the point, Jaal. Pretty sure you were supposed to take the bait. Just immediately start chasing me.” She whined, but Jaal’s lips pursed in a frown as he took in her words. 

“Take the… what is with your Milky Way euphemisms? I am not a fish.” Jaal exclaimed, a confused look upon his face. 

Shudun stared at him blankly for a moment before she burst out laughing. Jaal cocked his head to the side a bit as he watched her, not sure what he said that was so funny. She was covering her mouth with her hands, muffling the sound of her laughter as she tried to catch her breath. The longer she kept laughing, Jaal couldn't fight the urge to laugh alongside her. Stumbling over to where he sat, Shudun wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into the crook of his neck. 

“Damn, do I love you.” Shudun muttered breathlessly, holding him tighter in her arms before pulling away. Jaal's eyes widened at her confession, his smile growing. 

“What did you say?” Jaal whispered, and Shudun looked away shyly as she rubbed the skin of her wrist. A breath passed between them before Shudun looked back in his eyes, that mischievous smile back on her face as she took a step away from him. 

The temptress. 

Jaal leaned forward, reaching for her but she evaded him (barely) and headed for the door. Giggling, she ran for the vid-con room and wasn't surprised when she heard his light footfall chasing after her. Rounding the table, Shudun turned and paced around, circling the perimeter of the meeting room. Jaal’s smile didn't waver, but he walked calmly around the room after her. 

“Say it again.” He demanded, taking a leap towards her after she rounded the side a bit too slow. She just barely evaded his grip as she continued to circle the table, shaking her head as she hurriedly switched direction just as Jaal did.

“Catch me.” She taunted, and a low sound was heard rumbling from his chest. Shudun felt her heart racing, her palms getting a little sweaty. A warmth had settled low in her belly when he did it again. 

He was _cheating._

Jaal, tired of her games, lept across the table and landed on the balls of his feet, turning to look at her. In her shock Shudun stood still, her brain not processing that she needed to run or _else he was going to catch her_. 

Her feet felt like they were stuck in mud, she moved so slowly backwards. Jaal again moved with her, his steps mirroring her own. Backing her up towards the window, his arms rested on the railing beside her, caging her in. Leaning down, he nuzzled her cheek as that soft rumble in his chest tickled her front. 

She's gonna need a cold shower after this. 

“Say it again. Please.” He whispered, lifting one of his hands to caress her face. 

“I love you.” She exhaled, anxious butterflies circling around in her belly. 

“And I love you. Now, was that so hard?” 

“Yes?” Shudun whined, hiding her face in the fabric of his rofjinn. She felt his chest shake with his light laugh at her distress but also felt his thumb sweeping to and fro on the back of her neck. Relaxing under his touch, Shudun closed her eyes and smiled. She could get used to this. 

‘ _Pathfinder. The remainder of the crew are boarding.’_ SAM mentioned mentally, but Shudun was too happy where she was. Disregarding her self-imposed restriction on PDA, Shudun wrapped her arms around Jaal’s waist, bringing him closer to her. Lifting her head, she noticed his smile hadn't faded in the least. But there was that hooded look in his eyes, the irises brighter and sparkling with a want that made her shiver. 

“W-what?” Shudun asked, nervously smiling back. 

“I cannot look at you?” Jaal teased, running the pad of his thumb along the underside of her chin. The soothing sensation coupled with a light current of his bioelectricity had her gasping, a moan nearly creeping through as his touch teased a particularly sensitive patch of skin. 

“Well, y-yeah but...” Shudun started, but another moan nearly escaped her mid sentence when Jaal pressed a little harder on that same spot, expelling a slightly stronger current into her skin. 

This beautiful asshole. 

“But?” His voice dropped lower, rumbling in her ears and along her chest. He’s making it harder for her to think when all she wants to focus on is his soothing touch all over and _especially_ between—

“I dunno.” She whined again, equal parts nervous and embarrassed over her thoughts. Hiding her face in his rofjinn again, she tried to steady her breathing and made to pull away but Jaal had dragged the blunt end of his nails (when did he take off his gloves?) along the side of her neck and before she could stop it a loud moan fully passed through her lips. 

Looking up, she saw that Jaal was smirking at her reaction but also that his nostrils were flaring. He made to do it again, but another voice chimed in off to the side, startling them both. 

“Guys, get a room!” Peebee screeched from the middle of the ramp. “If you're gonna get frisky and _not_ let me watch you should probably move this somewhere more... private.” She teased, turning to walk away. 

Shudun groaned, knowing that if Peebee had heard from down in the Research section then Vetra… and anyone else might have heard, too. And even if they hadn't, Peebee likes to talk. 

She was almost determined to _really_ give them something to talk about. 

Jaal chuckled at the way her eyes narrowed at nothing, her teeth worrying her bottom lip. She had unconsciously dug her nails into the fabric of his clothes along his sides, almost as if she was afraid he’d pull away. 

“Shudun.” 

“Hm?” 

“As much as I adore being close to you, your nails are rather sharp.” 

She quickly released her fingers from his clothes, seeing that she did indeed leave little indents in the fabric. Sucking her teeth, she rubbed her hands along it, trying to soothe the skin underneath. She didn't get very far before Jaal had reached down and pulled her hands away. Looking up, she saw that his cheeks were a bit flushed, a deeper shade of magenta fading through. 

Shudun arched a brow at his reaction, bringing their joined hands to her lips. Kissing the skin before she pulled away from him she headed towards the ramp back towards the lower deck. 

“We’ll finish this another time. Besides—I think I just found out that you're ticklish.” She teased, the last word a whisper. Jaal cleared his throat as he narrowed his eyes at her. 

“That's a ridiculous idea.” 

“Sure it is, love.” She threw over her shoulder, continuing to walk away. She heard the echo of Jaal scoffing at her and smiled. 

It was on now.


End file.
